Free China Movement Calls for Thailand Government Not to Send Mr. Lu Back to China And Ask

FCM

PRESS RELEASE

FREE CHINA MOVEMENT

4101 Davenport St., NW, Washington, DC 20016

http://www.freechina.net/

Free China Movement Calls for Thailand Government Not to Send Mr. Lu Back to China And Asks UN to Grant Mr. Lu Refugee Status ASAP

Dec 15, 2004

Washington , DC

Mr. Lu Decheng who splashed paint onto Mao Zedong's portrait on Tiananmen Watchtower during 1989 democratic movement recently successfully escaped from China around November 5, 2004. Thailand police arrested him on December 12, 2004. The people from the pro democracy movement are very concerned that he may be repatriated to Beijing authority if there is lack of international pressure.

On December 12 at 3:00 pm of Bangkok Time, plain-clothed policemen arrested Mr. Lu Decheng at Sha Kun Road in Bangkok near a church. Mr. Lu is now being kept in a nearby police station.

According to reliable sources, Lu Decheng has applied for political asylum from the United Nations Refugee Bureau two weeks ago (application number 19729) and his application is already in process.

According to the news from Wen Bo, Thailand police will repatriate Lu to Beijing soon. Once Mr. Lu is sent back to China, it's feared that he would be severely punished for his escape from China. Mr. Lu Decheng was sentenced to sixteen years while Yu Zijian and Dongyue have been sentenced to life in prison and 20 years imprisonment respectfully in 1989. At present Yu Zhijian has been released, Dongyue is suffeing severe mental aberration in the prison.

Chinese Citizen Forum (CCF) expresses its deep concern over this issue and herby urges international community. Mr. Tang Baiqiao, executive director of CCF stated: "Mr. Lu is from Hunan Province where the communist authority has the tradition to crack down dissidents in the harshest terms. We are very worried that Mr. Lu would face serious retaliation for escaping China once he were sent back to China."

"We hereby call for the Thailand Authority to respect the International law that a refugee applicant should not be sent back to his home country while his application is pending. Allowing Mr. Lu to be sent back will amount to the violation of international obligations Thailand government has to meet." Stated Dr. Wang Zhongxiao, national director of Free China Movement.

"The international society should keep a close eye on this case where a pro-democracy dissident, though unknown to the outside world, might be deprived a duo process according to international law governing refugee. Mr. Lu is one of many people who were severely persecuted and has the full qualification to be protected as a refugee. He was one of the three heroes in Tian An Men Square who stepped further to denounce the symbol of the totalitarian system in China by damaging the photo of Chairman Mao while most of us students were still naively hope the communist government may be able to reform itself. Fifteen years of history has proved that those three heroes were correct in declaring the end of the dictatorship is the key to the democracy in China!" Stated Shengde Lian, a student leader in Tian An Men Square in 1989 and former political prisoner.